A Warrior's Honor
by denise1
Summary: A tag to Shadowplay


A Warrior's Honor

By

Denise

"Do you desire me to accompany you?" Teal'c asked, exiting the car and dismissing the driver.

Jonas shook his head. "No. Thank you. It'll just confuse him."

Teal'c nodded. "As you wish. I shall wait in the courtyard," he said, walking away.

Jonas watched him go and sighed. Part of him did desire someone to come with him. But he also despaired of having anyone else witness Doctor Kieran's dementia. As silly as it sounded, it seemed the more people that knew about it, the more real it would be.

He made his way past the security check points, his familiarity with the guards easing his passage. He'd gained General Hammond's permission for weekly visits soon after Doctor Kieran had been committed, as long as someone accompanied him. Which was not an unreasonable precaution he thought.

A part of him knew that his mentor was so lost in his delusions that if Jonas ever stopped coming, he likely wouldn't know the difference. Still he felt he owed it to the man.

For years, Doctor Kieran had been his only friend, his only real ally in the competitive atmosphere of the Kelownan scientific community.

He stepped into the large common room, pausing at the threshold. He scanned the room, his eyes skittering over the occupants. This was a small facility, one the military maintained for individuals who had known too much before their respective illnesses. And it was staffed by people who knew not to ask questions. Mrs. Johnson sat in the corner, knitting what had to be the world's largest blanket. Mrs. Mason was in another corner, animatedly talking to a large plastic fern and Mister Jackson was in his usual place in front of a glass door, carrying on a spirited conversation with himself.

Spying Doctor Kieran seated at a table, Jonas nodded to the orderly and walked over to his friend. "Doctor Kieran," he said softly. The older man looked up, frowning a bit. "It's me, Jonas."

His face brightened as recognition dawned. "Jonas, hello," Doctor Kieran smiled warmly.

Jonas smiled in return as he sat down. "How are you feeling, doctor?"

"Oh fine, fine." He tapped the cast on his leg. "They take this off in a few days." He leaned forward and lowered his voice. "Then I'll be able to resume my role in the resistance," he whispered eagerly.

"Of course. I'm sure they can't wait to have you back," Jonas agreed, keeping his voice light.

"I hope they understand why I haven't been able to help."

"I'm sure they do. You're very important to the resistance," Jonas said. "What have you been doing to keep yourself busy?"

Doctor Kieran looked around the room, and then pushed the note pad across the table. "I've been working on a way to rescue Tomis Lee and Doctor Silas." He pointed to the detailed drawings of what Jonas recognized as the floor plan of the main government building. "I couldn't do it myself, but if your friends help, I'm sure we can rescue them."

"I'm sure I can get Colonel O'Neill to help," Jonas said. "Can I take these to him?"

"Please. If it weren't for my leg, I would go with you. But I'm afraid I'll slow you down."

Jonas laid a comforting hand on the man's shoulder. "That's ok. We'll see if we can manage without you."

"Doctor Kieran, I have your lunch."

Jonas turned his head to see Gabriel, the orderly standing behind him, holding a covered tray in his hands. "Do you want to eat here with Jonas?"

"Oh yes but…"

"That's ok, Doctor. I ate on the way here," Jonas said, forestalling the man's question.

Doctor Kieran nodded and Gabriel set down the tray, removing the lid. He gave Jonas a reassuring look, then walked off to serve lunch to the other patients.

Jonas chatted with his mentor as the older man ate. He noticed that the food in the hospital was very similar to what the SGC served. Something that he'd heard others in the SGC call 'institutional'.

He was glad to see the man clear his tray. One thing that had struck him when he'd come to Earth, was how frail his mentor now looked. As near as Doctor Fraiser could guess, Doctor Kieran had been so lost in his delusions that he'd let his health suffer. Jonas did owe First Minister Valis a debt for allowing him to bring Doctor Kieran back to Earth. If Kelowna was indeed at war, Jonas had doubts that his mentor would still be alive had he stayed. His government barely had time for citizens that could contribute to the war effort. A mentally deficient old man would be low on their list of priorities.

Doctor Kieran finished his meal. He carefully unfolded his paper napkin and picked up a small square of frosted cake. Jonas watched the man carefully wrap up the cake. "Doctor Kieran?"

The man held his fingers in front of his lips. He set the small bundle in his lap and rolled his wheelchair away from the table. Jonas got to his feet and stepped behind the chair. He pushed Doctor Kieran down the hall and towards the man's room, nodding to Gabriel who was trying to pry Mister Jackson away from the window long enough to eat.

"Over there," Doctor Kieran instructed. Jonas obligingly pushed him closer to the small closet in his room. "In the drawer," he whispered. Jonas opened the drawer and stared at the other napkin wrapped bundles. "You better take the naquadira before they find it," the man instructed. "I know your friends can use it, so I save all I can." Jonas looked into the drawer and fought to keep the shock off his face. Laid carefully in the drawer were several small squares. From the smell and the stains seeping through the thin paper napkins, he could see that Doctor Kieran had been saving his dessert for the past week, wrapping each piece of cake up in a napkin and carefully stowing it away.

Fighting the lump in his throat, Jonas gathered up the pieces of cake, struggling not to drop any. "They'll appreciate this," he said, forcing a smile on his face. "Thank you Doctor Kieran."

"Don't forget this one," he picked up the bundle from his lap and held it out. "If you come back next week, I'll have more," Doctor Kieran said as Jonas took the cake from him.

"I'm counting on that Doctor. We're all counting on you," Jonas said. He said his goodbyes and left the room, quickly leaving the facility.

Teal'c was sitting on a bench just outside the door and got to his feet as he spied Jonas. Silently they made their way to the staff car that was waiting to take them back to the SGC. Ignoring Teal'c's frown, Jonas got into the back seat, setting the squares of cake on the floorboard. He turned his head and directed his attention to the scenery flashing by hoping that the Jaffa would get the hint.

It took them only a few minutes to arrive at Cheyenne Mountain. As the car stopped, Jonas bent over to retrieve the pieces of cake. He needed to remember to bring some sort of container next week, something to make his burden easier to carry. Maybe it was silly, but he couldn't just throw away the stale cakes. He'd promised Doctor Kieran that he'd bring them to the SGC, and he intended to fulfill that promise. A dark hand impinged into his vision and he looked up to see Teal'c picking up some of the squares. Silently he gathered about half of them and together they exited the car.

They walked to the first checkpoint and presented their badges. The sentry frowned at the two men, their arms full of stained napkin wrapped cakes. "Aah, sirs…"

"This is vital research material for the SGC," Teal'c told the man, stepping forward to tower over him slightly.

"Aah…yes, of course. Have a nice day, sir," the young man said, taking a step back.

Teal'c nodded and they stepped into the elevator. "Thank you," Jonas said.

"A true warrior will keep his word, no matter how trivial that word is," Teal'c said. "I am honored to assist you in this duty."

Fin


End file.
